Most counterfeit Czech banknotes are not difficult to detect

A total of 4,986 counterfeit Czech banknotes, worth more than CZK 4.8 million, were seized in the Czech Republic in 2010. Most of them were poor quality fakes which the general public should be able to detect easily. There was one seized banknote per 70,200 banknotes in circulation last year. This is one-quarter of the figure in the euro area countries.

Using a five-point security scale corresponding to the marking system in Czech schools, most of the Czech counterfeits seized last year (67%) can be given a grade four, i.e. poor. Experts from the CNB’s Money Testing Office assessed 26% of the counterfeits detected last year as unskilled and gave them the lowest grade on the scale.

“Only a very small number of higher-grade counterfeit Czech banknotes and coins were detected in 2010. If people pay basic attention to protective elements when receiving cash, they should be able to detect the counterfeits,” said CNB Bank Board member Pavel Řežábek.

In 2010, counterfeiters mostly concentrated on CZK 500 and CZK 1,000 banknotes. Every sixth seized banknote bore the portrait of Božena Němcová or František Palacký. The most frequently faked coins were the CZK 2, 5 and 20 denominations.

There was one seized Czech banknote per around 70,200 banknotes in circulation last year. This is about one-quarter of the figure in the euro area, where there is one counterfeit per every 16,700 genuine euro banknotes.

In all, 6,529 counterfeit and altered banknotes and coins of various currencies, worth almost CZK 8 million, were seized in the Czech Republic in 2010. Of this total, 5,304 were seized from circulation and 1,225 by the Czech police. For comparison, 6,955 counterfeits of various currencies, worth more than CZK 12 million, had been detected in 2009 (4,816 counterfeits in circulation and 2,139 seized by the police).

The number of forged foreign banknotes and coins fell by 1,647 to 1,543 in 2010. Their value was almost CZK 2.95 million, which is almost CZK 4.3 million less than in 2009. The number of seized euro banknotes fell sharply, from 2,766 in 2009 to 799 in 2010. By contrast, the number of forged dollar banknotes rose by 394 to 611.

2010 – Counterfeit and altered banknotes and coins seized in circulation and by the Czech police in the Czech Republic

2009 – Counterfeit and altered banknotes and coins seized in circulation and by the Czech police in the Czech Republic

Marek Petruš, CNB spokesman